1 00:00:02,000 --> 00:00:04,120 I've been picked up from airports in taxis before 2 00:00:04,120 --> 00:00:06,400 but never had to go to a jetty and be picked up by boat. 3 00:00:10,240 --> 00:00:14,280 'He's Piers Taylor, an award-winning architect.' 4 00:00:14,280 --> 00:00:19,280 This building is so tactile and just rich, materially. 5 00:00:19,280 --> 00:00:21,200 'And she's Caroline Quentin, 6 00:00:21,200 --> 00:00:25,960 'acclaimed actress and passionate property developer.' 7 00:00:25,960 --> 00:00:28,560 I've been expecting you, Mr Bond! 8 00:00:28,560 --> 00:00:32,120 'We've been given the keys to some of the most incredible houses in 9 00:00:32,120 --> 00:00:33,600 'the world...' 10 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:37,560 - It's chock full of surprises, isn't it? - Ooh! 11 00:00:37,560 --> 00:00:39,440 '..to discover the design innovation, 12 00:00:39,440 --> 00:00:44,040 'passion and endurance needed to transform architectural vision 13 00:00:44,040 --> 00:00:46,160 'into an extraordinary home.' 14 00:00:46,160 --> 00:00:50,120 If this was Hollywood, I'd be snogging you now. 15 00:00:50,120 --> 00:00:53,240 'Together we'll be travelling the globe...' 16 00:00:53,240 --> 00:00:55,680 - Look down there. - I would but I'm trying not to kill us. 17 00:00:55,680 --> 00:00:57,440 No, you look ahead. 18 00:00:57,440 --> 00:01:01,160 '..meeting the architects and owners who have taken on the challenge 19 00:01:01,160 --> 00:01:04,720 'of building unconventional homes in demanding locations.' 20 00:01:04,720 --> 00:01:07,320 Just another day on the wing of a 747. 21 00:01:07,320 --> 00:01:10,000 'Whether it's navigating the logistics of constructing a house 22 00:01:10,000 --> 00:01:13,080 'on top of a remote mountain...' 23 00:01:13,080 --> 00:01:16,120 Why would you build a house where you can only get there 24 00:01:16,120 --> 00:01:18,000 by cable car? 25 00:01:18,000 --> 00:01:21,520 '..negotiating the ancient trees of a fragile forest...' 26 00:01:21,520 --> 00:01:23,560 You never see a building this close to the trees, 27 00:01:23,560 --> 00:01:24,880 I mean, that's six inches away. 28 00:01:24,880 --> 00:01:27,800 '..having a sea view whilst perched on the edge of 29 00:01:27,800 --> 00:01:29,760 'a dramatic coastal shoreline...' 30 00:01:29,760 --> 00:01:32,680 I'd love to know how you actually built this on what appears 31 00:01:32,680 --> 00:01:35,600 to be a sort of vertical cliff face. 32 00:01:35,600 --> 00:01:39,400 '..or excavating the earth to build a home deep underground.' 33 00:01:39,400 --> 00:01:42,440 No-one had ever built something like this before. 34 00:01:42,440 --> 00:01:45,360 It's a tightrope you're walking. It can go spectacularly wrong. 35 00:01:52,480 --> 00:01:55,320 Building a subterranean house embedded in the earth can provide 36 00:01:55,320 --> 00:01:58,480 an intriguing and magical living experience. 37 00:02:00,440 --> 00:02:02,520 Look how thick that bit of ground is. 38 00:02:02,520 --> 00:02:05,000 This is another world in here. 39 00:02:05,000 --> 00:02:08,000 But unearthing the landscape in order to build these ambitious homes 40 00:02:08,000 --> 00:02:11,440 is a path few dare to tread. 41 00:02:11,440 --> 00:02:14,320 There is always a moment when you feel fear. 42 00:02:14,320 --> 00:02:16,520 Nature is never to come back the same way. 43 00:02:16,520 --> 00:02:19,560 Caroline and I will be travelling from the undulating foothills of the 44 00:02:19,560 --> 00:02:22,520 Southern Alps of New Zealand... 45 00:02:22,520 --> 00:02:25,360 We had to use explosives to blow it all out. 46 00:02:25,360 --> 00:02:28,440 ..to the sweeping green valleys of Switzerland. 47 00:02:28,440 --> 00:02:31,640 So, did you have a budget in mind when you started this build? 48 00:02:31,640 --> 00:02:33,720 Yeah, but we didn't make it. 49 00:02:33,720 --> 00:02:35,960 And from the lowlands of a Dutch nature reserve 50 00:02:35,960 --> 00:02:40,000 to the coastal farmlands of the Greek islands. 51 00:02:40,000 --> 00:02:42,800 The architects and I threw up our hands and said, "Do you know what, 52 00:02:42,800 --> 00:02:44,640 "it just isn't working." 53 00:02:44,640 --> 00:02:46,960 Discovering what it takes to design, 54 00:02:46,960 --> 00:02:52,480 build and live in the world's most extraordinary underground houses. 55 00:02:52,480 --> 00:02:55,360 Construction is stressful, it's tiring. 56 00:02:55,360 --> 00:02:59,800 It was hard labour and a lot of blood, sweat and tears. 57 00:03:09,440 --> 00:03:13,800 'The first stop on our discovery of underground architecture takes us to 58 00:03:13,800 --> 00:03:15,760 'the Aegean Sea...' 59 00:03:15,760 --> 00:03:17,760 THEY LAUGH 60 00:03:17,760 --> 00:03:20,200 '..and to the Greek island of Antiparos.' 61 00:03:20,200 --> 00:03:22,440 You love Greece, don't you? 62 00:03:22,440 --> 00:03:24,560 I love it. I've been coming to Greece for 40 years 63 00:03:24,560 --> 00:03:27,120 and I think it's about my favourite place in the world. 64 00:03:27,120 --> 00:03:28,920 I think it's the colour of the water, 65 00:03:28,920 --> 00:03:30,560 the colour of the sky and, still, 66 00:03:30,560 --> 00:03:33,400 - it's so unspoilt. - Little white squares still. 67 00:03:33,400 --> 00:03:35,760 - Yeah. - Exactly as you imagined it's going to be. 68 00:03:35,760 --> 00:03:38,360 There's nothing big, nothing breaking the skyline. 69 00:03:38,360 --> 00:03:40,280 There's a rule here that you can only build 70 00:03:40,280 --> 00:03:44,280 so far in one direction before you've got to turn or break it down. 71 00:03:44,280 --> 00:03:47,160 Oh, I see, and that explains all the little boxes. I see. 72 00:03:47,160 --> 00:03:49,800 These, historically, would have been fishermen's houses 73 00:03:49,800 --> 00:03:53,480 and probably a bit of subsistence farming. 74 00:03:54,920 --> 00:03:58,320 'We're heading to a spacious underground holiday home 75 00:03:58,320 --> 00:04:00,640 'where the owners wanted a contemporary house 76 00:04:00,640 --> 00:04:03,160 'big enough to entertain their family and friends.' 77 00:04:06,040 --> 00:04:10,880 The challenge facing the architects was to design a house with stunning 78 00:04:10,880 --> 00:04:14,000 sea views from each of its nine bedrooms. 79 00:04:14,000 --> 00:04:17,240 But, at the same time, discreetly conceal the building. 80 00:04:19,800 --> 00:04:22,480 I mean, I know we're going to go and see, rather bizarrely, 81 00:04:22,480 --> 00:04:24,440 an underground house here. 82 00:04:24,440 --> 00:04:27,080 - Yeah. - Which I think is a really odd choice given that 83 00:04:27,080 --> 00:04:29,680 this is some of the most beautiful landscape I've ever seen. 84 00:04:29,680 --> 00:04:33,280 A view is a two-way responsibility and actually if you build on that 85 00:04:33,280 --> 00:04:36,120 to look at the view, you also have to accept that you are making 86 00:04:36,120 --> 00:04:37,640 something that people will look at. 87 00:04:37,640 --> 00:04:40,680 Yeah. But presumably that's why they've taken this underground option. 88 00:04:40,680 --> 00:04:43,640 - Yeah. - So that, something like 80% or 90% of this house is underground, 89 00:04:43,640 --> 00:04:46,720 which sounds hideous to me because I'm slightly claustrophobic 90 00:04:46,720 --> 00:04:48,720 and I can't bear the thought of being underground. 91 00:04:48,720 --> 00:04:51,600 But I think this house is actually designed as a piece of landscape 92 00:04:51,600 --> 00:04:52,720 rather than a building. 93 00:04:52,720 --> 00:04:55,400 So you don't think it's going to be dark, and dingy, and damp? 94 00:04:55,400 --> 00:04:58,840 - I hope it isn't, and it would be a real shame if it was. - Yeah. 95 00:04:58,840 --> 00:05:03,280 'Helping us locate this coastal hideaway is Theo, 96 00:05:03,280 --> 00:05:07,920 'who looks after the owner's home for them whilst they're back in the UK.' 97 00:05:09,120 --> 00:05:11,840 - Welcome to Antiparos. - Thank you very much. 98 00:05:11,840 --> 00:05:13,560 THEY GREET EACH OTHER IN GREEK 99 00:05:16,880 --> 00:05:19,000 We're going to go over to that hill and then down again. 100 00:05:19,000 --> 00:05:22,400 I'm assuming we're not going to get a great big vision of the house 101 00:05:22,400 --> 00:05:25,960 because we know that it's 80% or 90% under the ground, 102 00:05:25,960 --> 00:05:28,520 so will we see it at all before we get there? 103 00:05:28,520 --> 00:05:30,480 You'll see it. It's a bit of a surprise, really. 104 00:05:31,880 --> 00:05:35,240 - Is that the house? Oh, my Lord. - Wow. 105 00:05:35,240 --> 00:05:36,960 What a spot. 106 00:05:45,800 --> 00:05:47,520 SHE LAUGHS 107 00:05:49,080 --> 00:05:50,720 Oh, what a beautiful place! 108 00:05:50,720 --> 00:05:52,240 It's beautiful. 109 00:05:52,240 --> 00:05:53,400 SHE SINGS A HIGH NOTE 110 00:05:54,880 --> 00:05:56,880 I know, I know. 111 00:05:56,880 --> 00:06:00,760 'By hiding the majority of this structure beneath the landscape, 112 00:06:00,760 --> 00:06:05,320 'the architects managed to create a huge house on this site which both 113 00:06:05,320 --> 00:06:09,880 'embraces the view and retains the natural charm of this location.' 114 00:06:09,880 --> 00:06:12,440 Now, the owners are not here but they're very happy for you 115 00:06:12,440 --> 00:06:13,840 to have a look around. 116 00:06:13,840 --> 00:06:17,680 Thank you so much. Thank you so much, Theo, it's really, really kind of you. 117 00:06:17,680 --> 00:06:19,680 Enjoy your time and I'll see you later. 118 00:06:19,680 --> 00:06:21,080 Thank you very, very much. 119 00:06:21,080 --> 00:06:22,960 So, Caroline, tell me now, looking at this, 120 00:06:22,960 --> 00:06:25,520 are you still worried about feeling claustrophobic down there? 121 00:06:25,520 --> 00:06:27,840 Not yet. Not yet, but I'm not making up my mind, 122 00:06:27,840 --> 00:06:29,480 I'm not making up my mind yet. 123 00:06:29,480 --> 00:06:32,280 But, look at it, it's extraordinarily beautiful. 124 00:06:34,360 --> 00:06:38,400 This concealed home sits on a generous six-acre plot. 125 00:06:39,680 --> 00:06:44,520 Around 9,000 cubic metres of earth was excavated from the site, 126 00:06:44,520 --> 00:06:46,280 creating a giant crater. 127 00:06:47,440 --> 00:06:50,480 A concrete foundation and rear and internal walls 128 00:06:50,480 --> 00:06:53,560 were then built in this void, ten metres deep. 129 00:06:54,960 --> 00:06:57,240 The building unfolds on two levels 130 00:06:57,240 --> 00:06:59,800 to allow space for multiple bedrooms, 131 00:06:59,800 --> 00:07:03,200 bathrooms and terraces with private sea views. 132 00:07:04,880 --> 00:07:07,640 Concrete shafts rise up from the rear of the building 133 00:07:07,640 --> 00:07:09,880 to allow ventilation and natural light 134 00:07:09,880 --> 00:07:11,800 to enter the underground spaces. 135 00:07:13,280 --> 00:07:15,520 To fit in with the local architecture, 136 00:07:15,520 --> 00:07:18,560 Ktima's traditional white walls change direction 137 00:07:18,560 --> 00:07:20,000 after every ten metres. 138 00:07:21,080 --> 00:07:24,040 The green roof is covered in indigenous plants, 139 00:07:24,040 --> 00:07:27,360 allowing the underground living spaces to be invisible, 140 00:07:27,360 --> 00:07:30,480 with only the pool terrace and whitewashed walls on view. 141 00:07:32,480 --> 00:07:35,000 These walls look really enticing, don't they? 142 00:07:35,000 --> 00:07:37,120 - How are you with heights? - Not as good as you. 143 00:07:38,640 --> 00:07:40,680 You should come up, it's great. Look. 144 00:07:40,680 --> 00:07:42,000 - OK. - Caroline, 145 00:07:42,000 --> 00:07:45,160 there's all these lovely little terraces and courtyards within here. 146 00:07:45,160 --> 00:07:47,880 That's such a private space, as well. 147 00:07:47,880 --> 00:07:50,920 - And there'll be another one there. - Yeah, another little private space. 148 00:07:50,920 --> 00:07:52,280 God, that's clever, isn't it? 149 00:07:52,280 --> 00:07:54,600 It's a real sense of sort of intimacy, isn't there? 150 00:07:54,600 --> 00:07:57,200 You could be naked reading a book all afternoon. 151 00:07:57,200 --> 00:07:58,240 There's a thought. 152 00:08:03,040 --> 00:08:05,600 This is such a lovely, enticing space. 153 00:08:05,600 --> 00:08:08,720 I mean, look at this, I don't know whether I'm inside or outside. 154 00:08:08,720 --> 00:08:12,800 I thought this was just a canopy of bamboo covering, this space, 155 00:08:12,800 --> 00:08:16,360 but actually there's glass up there so you can sit here even when it's raining. 156 00:08:16,360 --> 00:08:19,240 I mean, look at these walls and shapes and the shadow and 157 00:08:19,240 --> 00:08:20,920 the shade, it's so beautiful. 158 00:08:20,920 --> 00:08:23,560 And looking back through there, Caroline, to the sea. 159 00:08:23,560 --> 00:08:24,600 Yeah. 160 00:08:29,040 --> 00:08:31,520 This is the dream for me, this is absolutely the dream. 161 00:08:31,520 --> 00:08:34,000 It's a kind of, sort of, lesson 162 00:08:34,000 --> 00:08:37,440 in how to build a villa in a hot country. 163 00:08:37,440 --> 00:08:41,280 What I admire about the building is that it's a very clever bit of 164 00:08:41,280 --> 00:08:44,800 architecture, it's very thorough and really well-integrated with 165 00:08:44,800 --> 00:08:47,840 this place and that's why I warmed to it so much. 166 00:08:47,840 --> 00:08:51,800 'By hiding this modern whitewashed house in the landscape, 167 00:08:51,800 --> 00:08:54,880 'it not only retains the island's architectural heritage, 168 00:08:54,880 --> 00:09:00,040 'it also benefits from traditional methods of keeping living spaces cool underground.' 169 00:09:01,040 --> 00:09:02,800 I really want to have a nosy upstairs, 170 00:09:02,800 --> 00:09:05,560 just work out how it all fits together. 171 00:09:05,560 --> 00:09:08,640 I really want to have a peek about in here. 172 00:09:08,640 --> 00:09:09,960 - I'll catch you later. - OK. 173 00:09:12,640 --> 00:09:15,880 This feels obviously like a really contemporary house 174 00:09:15,880 --> 00:09:18,560 but, at the same time, it has the qualities of something 175 00:09:18,560 --> 00:09:22,120 that's really ancient because people have been building in hot countries 176 00:09:22,120 --> 00:09:24,360 like this for hundreds and hundreds of years. 177 00:09:24,360 --> 00:09:29,040 What they've been doing is building in a way that harnesses 178 00:09:29,040 --> 00:09:31,840 the qualities of the ground, and, under the ground, 179 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:33,360 is a stable temperature, 180 00:09:33,360 --> 00:09:37,760 so all of the living rooms in this house are under the ground. 181 00:09:37,760 --> 00:09:41,320 What happens then is that that lovely cool sea breeze 182 00:09:41,320 --> 00:09:47,080 is used to draw air through those rooms and then out of those shafts, 183 00:09:47,080 --> 00:09:49,240 those light shafts that are behind. 184 00:09:49,240 --> 00:09:52,040 And those shafts also bring light to the back of the rooms that would 185 00:09:52,040 --> 00:09:53,720 also be dark. 186 00:09:53,720 --> 00:09:56,640 Unlike a normal house where you have light coming in from both sides, 187 00:09:56,640 --> 00:09:59,840 an underground house can't do that, so you need to bring in light. 188 00:10:01,480 --> 00:10:04,200 This is actually the deepest underground 189 00:10:04,200 --> 00:10:06,840 that this house gets and, look, really light. 190 00:10:08,000 --> 00:10:11,480 I think for many years as architects we forgot how to do buildings that 191 00:10:11,480 --> 00:10:13,760 really spoke of their place. 192 00:10:13,760 --> 00:10:17,440 But this building shows that you can harness ancient technologies and 193 00:10:17,440 --> 00:10:20,800 still do a building that is totally contemporary. 194 00:10:20,800 --> 00:10:24,200 I'm loving this, I'm loving this over here. 195 00:10:24,200 --> 00:10:25,920 All it is 196 00:10:25,920 --> 00:10:29,800 is a little bit of light coming down but it's painted orange, 197 00:10:29,800 --> 00:10:34,880 so it just shines out neon, and, up there, all I can see is the bright, 198 00:10:34,880 --> 00:10:37,880 bright blue of the sky against the orange. 199 00:10:37,880 --> 00:10:39,040 It's so beautiful. 200 00:10:44,200 --> 00:10:45,520 SHE SIGHS 201 00:10:46,680 --> 00:10:50,040 All my misgivings about an underground house 202 00:10:50,040 --> 00:10:54,640 being gloomy, and dark, and dank have completely disappeared 203 00:10:54,640 --> 00:10:59,800 because this is light, and bright, and cool, 204 00:10:59,800 --> 00:11:02,880 because it's really, really hot out there. 205 00:11:02,880 --> 00:11:05,840 And it's just perfect temperature in here. 206 00:11:05,840 --> 00:11:07,440 Oh... 207 00:11:10,400 --> 00:11:12,760 It's got a lovely en suite. 208 00:11:15,080 --> 00:11:16,280 Hi, Caroline! 209 00:11:16,280 --> 00:11:17,320 THEY LAUGH 210 00:11:18,880 --> 00:11:20,360 You going to turn the shower on? 211 00:11:20,360 --> 00:11:23,400 - Yes. - You might take your clothes off first, but... 212 00:11:24,560 --> 00:11:28,000 The view from here is so Greek, it couldn't be more Greek. 213 00:11:28,000 --> 00:11:30,880 It's white walls and then there's a blue dome but the blue dome is made 214 00:11:30,880 --> 00:11:32,200 out of sky. 215 00:11:32,200 --> 00:11:34,840 This is like some ancient Greek hilltop town, isn't it? 216 00:11:34,840 --> 00:11:36,200 Where the buildings are really 217 00:11:36,200 --> 00:11:38,840 close together and all you get is that fantastic view of the sky 218 00:11:38,840 --> 00:11:40,080 through the white walls. 219 00:11:40,080 --> 00:11:43,160 It's wonderful. It's so kind of refreshing down here as well, 220 00:11:43,160 --> 00:11:45,600 you don't feel like you're baking in the hot sun. 221 00:11:45,600 --> 00:11:48,960 Because actually this is a device to bring the air through 222 00:11:48,960 --> 00:11:50,200 and get the light in. 223 00:11:55,720 --> 00:11:59,600 The owners of this underground holiday home live in the UK 224 00:11:59,600 --> 00:12:00,840 with their two children. 225 00:12:02,400 --> 00:12:04,320 Karima is in London, 226 00:12:04,320 --> 00:12:08,200 so I'm giving her a call to find out what drew her family to this island. 227 00:12:09,760 --> 00:12:12,520 Did you fall in love with it straight away? 228 00:12:12,520 --> 00:12:14,000 'Straight away. Straight away. 229 00:12:14,000 --> 00:12:15,080 'Love at first sight.' 230 00:12:15,080 --> 00:12:16,640 - Really? - 'My husband and I, 231 00:12:16,640 --> 00:12:19,400 'I think we were just about to be married 232 00:12:19,400 --> 00:12:21,760 'and we looked out at the sunset 233 00:12:21,760 --> 00:12:24,240 'and that was it, we said we need to see this sunset 234 00:12:24,240 --> 00:12:25,320 'till the day we die.' 235 00:12:25,320 --> 00:12:28,240 Oh, my God, that's so adorable! 236 00:12:30,960 --> 00:12:32,760 But, in purchasing the land, 237 00:12:32,760 --> 00:12:35,800 the couple had also bought into plans for a proposed building 238 00:12:35,800 --> 00:12:38,240 for the site, which had already been designed 239 00:12:38,240 --> 00:12:41,880 by Portuguese architects Camilo Rabelo and Susana Martins. 240 00:12:43,360 --> 00:12:47,880 So, you designed this for somebody that hadn't bought it, 241 00:12:47,880 --> 00:12:49,920 I mean, this was a speculative house for somebody. 242 00:12:49,920 --> 00:12:51,000 It's an abstract problem. 243 00:12:51,000 --> 00:12:52,720 - Yeah, yeah. - It was like a bridge. 244 00:12:52,720 --> 00:12:57,240 It had a void below the structure and you could see through. 245 00:12:57,240 --> 00:13:00,680 'The plan was a beautiful plan but it wasn't a plan that 246 00:13:00,680 --> 00:13:02,360 'suited us as a family. 247 00:13:02,360 --> 00:13:05,400 'It was quite thin and quite narrow and we live in a tall, 248 00:13:05,400 --> 00:13:06,440 'thin house in London 249 00:13:06,440 --> 00:13:09,800 'and we were very keen to have something with a bit more space, 250 00:13:09,800 --> 00:13:11,760 'a bit more light and air.' 251 00:13:11,760 --> 00:13:13,880 They wanted a bigger house. 252 00:13:13,880 --> 00:13:14,920 How big? 253 00:13:15,880 --> 00:13:17,880 - Double. - Double. 254 00:13:17,880 --> 00:13:20,360 And this started to change everything. 255 00:13:20,360 --> 00:13:22,320 'We spent a year working on those plans. 256 00:13:22,320 --> 00:13:25,120 'We kept changing them but it just... 257 00:13:25,120 --> 00:13:29,080 'it didn't work with the dimensions and the scope that we wanted, 258 00:13:29,080 --> 00:13:30,600 'it was frustrating.' 259 00:13:30,600 --> 00:13:31,920 Was it ever stressful? 260 00:13:33,440 --> 00:13:34,920 Stressful... Demanding, 261 00:13:34,920 --> 00:13:38,680 let's put it like that, because it was a lot of back and forward. 262 00:13:38,680 --> 00:13:42,280 'And, in the end, the architects and I sort of threw up our hands and 263 00:13:42,280 --> 00:13:44,480 'said, "Do you know what, it just isn't working." 264 00:13:44,480 --> 00:13:48,280 You had to abandon one idea, and how did that feel for you? 265 00:13:48,280 --> 00:13:51,120 At the beginning, we were not very happy but... 266 00:13:51,120 --> 00:13:53,760 It's always difficult to abandon an idea. 267 00:13:53,760 --> 00:13:57,920 And how long did it take you to get to a scheme 268 00:13:57,920 --> 00:14:00,720 that was recognisably this? 269 00:14:00,720 --> 00:14:02,680 - A minute. - Really? 270 00:14:02,680 --> 00:14:05,280 - Can you show me the first sketch? - Yes. - I'm interested in that. 271 00:14:05,280 --> 00:14:07,800 First sketches are often the purist form of an idea. 272 00:14:07,800 --> 00:14:09,720 We started with two broken lines. 273 00:14:09,720 --> 00:14:11,920 Also very basic thoughts. 274 00:14:11,920 --> 00:14:15,920 Like, for example, the Greek amphitheatres, so... 275 00:14:15,920 --> 00:14:19,080 panoramic places for you to enjoy the view. 276 00:14:19,080 --> 00:14:21,080 What's interesting about this, though, 277 00:14:21,080 --> 00:14:25,160 is that it's absolutely the opposite of the previous scheme, 278 00:14:25,160 --> 00:14:28,160 which was a bridge hovering above a piece of landscape, 279 00:14:28,160 --> 00:14:30,480 whereas this is a piece of landscape. 280 00:14:30,480 --> 00:14:36,000 It allows you to conceal a very big building very subtly, but it looks, 281 00:14:36,000 --> 00:14:38,560 now, like a very finished building. 282 00:14:38,560 --> 00:14:40,120 The landscape is all grown back. 283 00:14:40,120 --> 00:14:44,560 But, actually, there must have been huge disturbance to make 284 00:14:44,560 --> 00:14:46,720 this building, huge disturbance to the landscape? 285 00:14:46,720 --> 00:14:51,480 In the beginning, I was very scared when they started the excavation, 286 00:14:51,480 --> 00:14:56,840 - yeah, very scared. - It's a massive quarry, and it's huge destruction... 287 00:14:56,840 --> 00:15:00,440 There is always a moment when you feel fear, and that is the moment, 288 00:15:00,440 --> 00:15:02,640 when you see this immense crater, 289 00:15:02,640 --> 00:15:05,400 you say nature is never to come back the same way. 290 00:15:06,680 --> 00:15:09,560 But then, it's our role, we are architects. 291 00:15:09,560 --> 00:15:11,880 Architecture means to construct, to build. 292 00:15:11,880 --> 00:15:14,200 There is no visible structure here, 293 00:15:14,200 --> 00:15:16,600 but, tell me, how was it constructed? 294 00:15:16,600 --> 00:15:19,280 These walls are three-layered bricks. 295 00:15:19,280 --> 00:15:22,320 - Traditional brick? - Traditional brick, which... 296 00:15:22,320 --> 00:15:25,840 - How thick? - It's about 70 centimetres. 297 00:15:25,840 --> 00:15:28,480 And this is very good, for thermic reasons. 298 00:15:28,480 --> 00:15:30,600 This is the way they build here in Greece. 299 00:15:30,600 --> 00:15:35,120 Very thick walls, with deep reveals, with windows pushed right in. 300 00:15:35,120 --> 00:15:39,560 'When the drawings came to life, and the structure was built, 301 00:15:39,560 --> 00:15:42,240 'there were angles I could not have imagined. I knew the footprint of 302 00:15:42,240 --> 00:15:44,400 'the building and drawings back to front, 303 00:15:44,400 --> 00:15:47,120 'but when you looked at certain angles, 304 00:15:47,120 --> 00:15:50,720 'just...it was beyond, it was beyond what we'd hoped and imagined.' 305 00:15:50,720 --> 00:15:56,240 Standing back now, several years later, do you love this building? 306 00:15:57,320 --> 00:16:00,760 I love this building. Totally love this building, yes! 307 00:16:05,720 --> 00:16:08,600 This is what Karima fell in love with, 308 00:16:08,600 --> 00:16:13,920 as she and her husband saw this plot of land, and, looking at it now, 309 00:16:13,920 --> 00:16:15,600 they haven't made a mistake, have they? 310 00:16:15,600 --> 00:16:17,840 No, I mean, this is, for me, what Greece is about, 311 00:16:17,840 --> 00:16:22,040 this time of the evening, but facing west, getting the sunset over water. 312 00:16:22,040 --> 00:16:25,440 I defy anybody to look at this view 313 00:16:25,440 --> 00:16:27,680 and not think they've found paradise. 314 00:16:30,840 --> 00:16:32,280 Could you sell up and come here? 315 00:16:32,280 --> 00:16:35,320 I think I could, but you'd have to build me a house. 316 00:16:35,320 --> 00:16:37,320 - Deal. - OK. 317 00:16:37,320 --> 00:16:38,360 Yes! 318 00:16:40,880 --> 00:16:42,360 This view is something 319 00:16:42,360 --> 00:16:46,200 that would make me leave my south-west leafy patch at home. 320 00:16:46,200 --> 00:16:50,200 If this was Hollywood, I'd be snogging you now. 321 00:17:06,080 --> 00:17:08,440 The next stop on our underground adventure 322 00:17:08,440 --> 00:17:11,720 takes us to the lush valleys of the Swiss Alps. 323 00:17:16,720 --> 00:17:19,840 - Oh, look down there! - I would, but I'm trying not to kill us. 324 00:17:19,840 --> 00:17:21,320 No, you look ahead! 325 00:17:22,640 --> 00:17:25,040 'We're heading to the village of Vals, 326 00:17:25,040 --> 00:17:27,840 'perched over 1,000 metres above sea level, 327 00:17:27,840 --> 00:17:30,920 'and surrounded by alpine pasture land.' 328 00:17:30,920 --> 00:17:33,360 Look at these little dotted about, little shelters... 329 00:17:33,360 --> 00:17:35,960 I think this is it, actually, this is Vals. Here we are, Vals. 330 00:17:35,960 --> 00:17:37,840 Beautiful little buildings, aren't they? 331 00:17:37,840 --> 00:17:39,520 I mean, look up there, Caroline, 332 00:17:39,520 --> 00:17:41,640 these little barns built into the hill. 333 00:17:41,640 --> 00:17:44,480 The only thing I know about these little chalets and things 334 00:17:44,480 --> 00:17:47,160 is that I make one every Christmas out of gingerbread. 335 00:17:47,160 --> 00:17:48,960 Look at that little window! 336 00:17:48,960 --> 00:17:51,840 That's ridiculous. If Hansel and Gretel aren't in there, 337 00:17:51,840 --> 00:17:53,240 I want my money back. 338 00:17:54,880 --> 00:17:57,000 Although we're in the heart of Switzerland, 339 00:17:57,000 --> 00:17:59,080 the underground house we're looking for is 340 00:17:59,080 --> 00:18:01,400 owned by Dutch architect, Bjarne Mastenbroek. 341 00:18:02,560 --> 00:18:05,480 Wanting to push his creative boundaries 342 00:18:05,480 --> 00:18:07,920 and live out his childhood dream, 343 00:18:07,920 --> 00:18:11,840 he built an underground den as a holiday home for his family. 344 00:18:11,840 --> 00:18:15,680 Bjarne found a small, mountainside plot of land, 345 00:18:15,680 --> 00:18:17,200 but it came with a caveat - 346 00:18:17,200 --> 00:18:19,920 he had to keep the traditional agricultural 347 00:18:19,920 --> 00:18:22,160 barn, which existed on the site. 348 00:18:23,920 --> 00:18:25,800 Piers, this is what we've been talking about, 349 00:18:25,800 --> 00:18:27,920 these are the traditional farm buildings, 350 00:18:27,920 --> 00:18:30,440 and these would have had the animals underneath, 351 00:18:30,440 --> 00:18:34,000 and the heat would have been rising up and drying out the hay. 352 00:18:34,000 --> 00:18:35,680 But, of course, 353 00:18:35,680 --> 00:18:40,080 as in everywhere in the world now, animal welfare have become involved, 354 00:18:40,080 --> 00:18:42,840 so these are no longer available... 355 00:18:42,840 --> 00:18:46,000 CAROLINE IS DROWNED OUT BY MUSIC FROM THE SOUND OF MUSIC 356 00:18:47,880 --> 00:18:50,280 ..monolithic... 357 00:18:50,280 --> 00:18:51,960 Just a tragic waste... 358 00:18:51,960 --> 00:18:53,800 Oh, dizzy! 359 00:18:53,800 --> 00:18:55,240 'Halfway up the hillside, 360 00:18:55,240 --> 00:18:58,200 'we stumble upon the old barn we've been looking for.' 361 00:18:59,400 --> 00:19:00,960 Well, this is the entrance. 362 00:19:00,960 --> 00:19:04,520 - Yeah. - So somehow, underneath this, is our house, or...? 363 00:19:04,520 --> 00:19:07,000 Yeah, well, I think we go into it, and then we'll discover it. 364 00:19:07,000 --> 00:19:08,400 It's very mysterious, isn't it? 365 00:19:09,760 --> 00:19:11,400 - Shall I open it? - Yeah. 366 00:19:13,440 --> 00:19:16,200 - Ooh. - There's some hay. 367 00:19:16,200 --> 00:19:18,640 It's really exciting! 368 00:19:18,640 --> 00:19:21,680 God, look at it. This is insane. 369 00:19:22,960 --> 00:19:25,080 Rather than get rid of the old farm building, 370 00:19:25,080 --> 00:19:28,320 Bjarne converted it into the entrance for his underground home. 371 00:19:30,280 --> 00:19:35,000 Talking about how to combine modern and ancient agricultural buildings, 372 00:19:35,000 --> 00:19:36,680 this is like a masterclass in that, for me. 373 00:19:36,680 --> 00:19:37,880 It is, it totally is. 374 00:19:37,880 --> 00:19:40,400 - I mean, look at that concrete. - That's concrete, isn't it, yeah. 375 00:19:40,400 --> 00:19:43,040 Yeah, and just the bare light fittings. 376 00:19:43,040 --> 00:19:47,120 And look at that, that is the tunnel, I think, 377 00:19:47,120 --> 00:19:48,520 that takes us into the house. 378 00:19:48,520 --> 00:19:49,720 Spooky, dark corridors 379 00:19:49,720 --> 00:19:52,360 and being underground, I don't really like very much, 380 00:19:52,360 --> 00:19:54,880 but I can see light at the end of that tunnel. 381 00:19:57,760 --> 00:20:00,400 It feels like we're entering church. 382 00:20:00,400 --> 00:20:03,200 Or a catacomb. I'll tell you what it reminds me of, actually, 383 00:20:03,200 --> 00:20:05,600 is when you go into the pyramids in Egypt. 384 00:20:05,600 --> 00:20:08,440 - Yeah. - Where they draw you down into the earth. 385 00:20:08,440 --> 00:20:10,080 Yes. This is beautiful. 386 00:20:10,080 --> 00:20:11,280 That's lovely, isn't it? 387 00:20:11,280 --> 00:20:13,920 It feels like it's been here for thousands of years. 388 00:20:13,920 --> 00:20:17,160 And this slot of light here. 389 00:20:23,200 --> 00:20:25,560 I think it's really theatrical, I mean, 390 00:20:25,560 --> 00:20:29,720 the whole orchestrated entrance that leaves the world behind, 391 00:20:29,720 --> 00:20:32,720 and brings you into a sort of secret world. 392 00:20:32,720 --> 00:20:35,040 But it's also just beautiful material, 393 00:20:35,040 --> 00:20:37,280 beautiful light, beautiful angles. 394 00:20:37,280 --> 00:20:40,160 And then, just there, look, the little finials and doorknobs. 395 00:20:40,160 --> 00:20:41,800 - Yeah. - To hang your coat on. 396 00:20:41,800 --> 00:20:43,320 They're hilarious, aren't they? 397 00:20:43,320 --> 00:20:47,440 Wow! I mean, the shaft of light there is just so lovely. 398 00:20:47,440 --> 00:20:48,880 - Look at that. - Oh! 399 00:20:48,880 --> 00:20:54,720 Isn't it ridiculous, Piers, that that's so small, and so exciting. 400 00:20:54,720 --> 00:20:58,560 - Yeah. - It's just a little slash of light through concrete. 401 00:20:58,560 --> 00:21:01,400 Why should that be so thrilling, but it is thrilling, isn't it? 402 00:21:01,400 --> 00:21:02,840 I'm coming out in goose bumps. 403 00:21:06,240 --> 00:21:08,280 As we find daylight again, 404 00:21:08,280 --> 00:21:11,200 the concave facade of the main house 405 00:21:11,200 --> 00:21:13,400 and its panoramic views are revealed. 406 00:21:29,600 --> 00:21:31,720 This is extraordinary, isn't it? 407 00:21:31,720 --> 00:21:35,240 'The deceptively spacious living room is a complete contrast 408 00:21:35,240 --> 00:21:36,760 'to the entrance tunnel. 409 00:21:37,960 --> 00:21:39,440 'Despite being underground, 410 00:21:39,440 --> 00:21:42,800 'the space is flooded with daylight and not at all what I'd expected.' 411 00:21:44,440 --> 00:21:50,760 I have never seen you ever sit down in a house when we arrive. 412 00:21:50,760 --> 00:21:54,440 I think, in a way, it's because that whole experience has been so 413 00:21:54,440 --> 00:21:58,640 carefully orchestrated, the barn, that fantastic hall, 414 00:21:58,640 --> 00:22:00,160 that when you come to this point, 415 00:22:00,160 --> 00:22:02,920 so I'm ready to sit and just kind of drink it in. 416 00:22:02,920 --> 00:22:05,200 I mean, it's a stunning sitting room. 417 00:22:05,200 --> 00:22:06,320 This would do me. 418 00:22:08,440 --> 00:22:11,600 The starting point for building this underground home 419 00:22:11,600 --> 00:22:14,320 was to dig a void 36 feet deep into the hillside, 420 00:22:14,320 --> 00:22:16,560 big enough to enclose this two-storey, 421 00:22:16,560 --> 00:22:17,920 four-bedroom house. 422 00:22:19,080 --> 00:22:21,920 A thick, reinforced retaining wall was then poured, 423 00:22:21,920 --> 00:22:24,240 and internal walls were built from concrete. 424 00:22:25,240 --> 00:22:28,560 The front of the house is sealed by a concave facade, 425 00:22:28,560 --> 00:22:30,240 made from local stone, 426 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:32,360 and scattered with windows to allow light 427 00:22:32,360 --> 00:22:34,040 into every room of the property. 428 00:22:35,080 --> 00:22:37,080 A 22-metre underground tunnel 429 00:22:37,080 --> 00:22:39,760 connects the house to the barn entrance. 430 00:22:41,840 --> 00:22:43,920 To find out more about the inspiration 431 00:22:43,920 --> 00:22:45,600 for this award-winning home, 432 00:22:45,600 --> 00:22:49,280 we're meeting the owners, Bjarne and his wife, Katrin. 433 00:22:49,280 --> 00:22:51,960 - Hi, there. - Lovely to meet you. 434 00:22:51,960 --> 00:22:54,640 - And who's this? - It's Joanne. 435 00:22:54,640 --> 00:22:56,120 Joanne, hello, darling! 436 00:22:56,120 --> 00:23:00,520 I've got to start by saying this is an extraordinarily beautiful house. 437 00:23:00,520 --> 00:23:01,760 Bit unusual, but... 438 00:23:01,760 --> 00:23:05,960 What made you decide to build an underground house? 439 00:23:05,960 --> 00:23:09,200 When I was young, I built a lot of underground huts with my friends, 440 00:23:09,200 --> 00:23:12,240 and that idea I always kept in my mind. 441 00:23:12,240 --> 00:23:14,600 - Yeah. - So I thought it would be nice to do it, 442 00:23:14,600 --> 00:23:17,760 and here it was quite obvious, because of the steep hill. 443 00:23:17,760 --> 00:23:20,920 I hope you don't mind the way I think of this house, but I feel, 444 00:23:20,920 --> 00:23:25,880 it looks to me like a meteorite or a big cannonball has hit, 445 00:23:25,880 --> 00:23:30,040 and then you pull it out, and you're left with this perfect circle. 446 00:23:30,040 --> 00:23:32,760 And then inside that circle, you built a house. 447 00:23:32,760 --> 00:23:35,880 It's a perfect circle, under 45 degrees, 448 00:23:35,880 --> 00:23:39,160 so the projection of it is an ellipse. 449 00:23:41,640 --> 00:23:46,360 The design of this house reminds me of homes for burrowing animals. 450 00:23:46,360 --> 00:23:49,920 Inside, the maze of rooms feels just like a warren. 451 00:23:49,920 --> 00:23:52,000 I wouldn't be surprised to see a rabbit. 452 00:23:52,000 --> 00:23:54,360 The layout may flow seamlessly now, 453 00:23:54,360 --> 00:23:57,440 but fitting a four-bedroom house in a small hole in the ground 454 00:23:57,440 --> 00:23:59,520 was a huge challenge for Bjarne. 455 00:23:59,520 --> 00:24:01,960 We spent a lot of time on the layout. 456 00:24:01,960 --> 00:24:04,720 First, it was like a banana-shaped building, three stories, 457 00:24:04,720 --> 00:24:08,000 but we had to cut it down all the time, also because of budget, 458 00:24:08,000 --> 00:24:10,400 until we reached, like, two, two-and-a-half stories, 459 00:24:10,400 --> 00:24:12,200 and much more un-deep, 460 00:24:12,200 --> 00:24:14,680 so then you have to organise all the rooms 461 00:24:14,680 --> 00:24:16,640 so that they can have daylight. 462 00:24:16,640 --> 00:24:19,400 That was probably the trickiest thing to get in. 463 00:24:19,400 --> 00:24:24,000 The design of the house as an overall design took a lot of time, 464 00:24:24,000 --> 00:24:27,200 and then we started building, but that took also more than two years. 465 00:24:27,200 --> 00:24:30,560 And how evolved was the design when you started building? 466 00:24:30,560 --> 00:24:32,800 Was it absolutely finished, or...? 467 00:24:32,800 --> 00:24:34,320 No, no, not at all. 468 00:24:34,320 --> 00:24:36,320 So, we also accepted mistakes. 469 00:24:36,320 --> 00:24:39,040 Maybe you will see in the tunnel there is one skylight 470 00:24:39,040 --> 00:24:40,800 that has a real bow in it, 471 00:24:40,800 --> 00:24:44,280 so something went wrong, and then you come here, 472 00:24:44,280 --> 00:24:47,080 and the contractors say, "Oh, I'm very sorry, I have to take it down." 473 00:24:47,080 --> 00:24:48,800 I say, "Oh, no, it's fine, keep it." 474 00:24:48,800 --> 00:24:52,360 And then he's looking at you like, "What? Can I keep it like this?" 475 00:24:52,360 --> 00:24:53,440 Because it's not perfect. 476 00:24:53,440 --> 00:24:55,640 - How amazing. - You know, we don't want to have it perfect. 477 00:24:55,640 --> 00:24:58,320 My idea is that, for architecture, you don't need perfection. 478 00:24:58,320 --> 00:25:01,920 In a way, perfect architecture tends to become very boring. 479 00:25:03,600 --> 00:25:07,760 Although Bjarne was relaxed during the complex build of this underground house, 480 00:25:07,760 --> 00:25:11,360 there was one aspect that he wouldn't compromise on. 481 00:25:11,360 --> 00:25:14,800 He was adamant about using a local construction team, 482 00:25:14,800 --> 00:25:16,560 out of respect for the area. 483 00:25:18,240 --> 00:25:20,360 To buy a cup of coffee is massively expensive here. 484 00:25:20,360 --> 00:25:23,560 Is it massively expensive to use Swiss builders? 485 00:25:23,560 --> 00:25:25,200 Yes! 486 00:25:25,200 --> 00:25:29,360 - It is. - So did you have a budget in mind when you started this build? 487 00:25:29,360 --> 00:25:31,560 Yeah, but we didn't make it. 488 00:25:31,560 --> 00:25:35,600 You didn't make it by what, a little or a lot? 489 00:25:35,600 --> 00:25:39,840 A lot. You know, I think we ran over budget about two-and-a-half times. 490 00:25:39,840 --> 00:25:43,160 Did the villagers take to the idea of you building it, 491 00:25:43,160 --> 00:25:45,760 because it's so unlike anything else around here? 492 00:25:45,760 --> 00:25:48,600 I think in the beginning they didn't believe it would ever be built. 493 00:25:48,600 --> 00:25:51,200 It was like it's too crazy, they won't be able to build it. 494 00:25:51,200 --> 00:25:53,720 - What, they didn't think you could do it? - Yeah. 495 00:25:53,720 --> 00:25:55,840 They said later on, when it was built, 496 00:25:55,840 --> 00:25:58,320 that they gave a building permit within three weeks, 497 00:25:58,320 --> 00:26:01,160 which is very fast, because they thought it wouldn't be built. 498 00:26:01,160 --> 00:26:02,320 And now that you are here, 499 00:26:02,320 --> 00:26:04,280 and you're very much part of this village, 500 00:26:04,280 --> 00:26:07,320 do the people in the village accept you, and like this house? 501 00:26:08,320 --> 00:26:12,720 I think so. We had an open door for one day, when it was finished, 502 00:26:12,720 --> 00:26:15,640 and we expected, like 50 or 60 people, 503 00:26:15,640 --> 00:26:19,320 but it turned out that one third of the village came, over 350 people. 504 00:26:19,320 --> 00:26:22,600 - That's a lot of cups of tea! - So they were curious, they were curious. 505 00:26:22,600 --> 00:26:23,920 Yeah. 506 00:26:29,400 --> 00:26:31,000 So this is a really beautiful space, 507 00:26:31,000 --> 00:26:34,880 I mean, this is so sensual, you know, bathed in this pink light. 508 00:26:34,880 --> 00:26:37,320 I love it, that's the mirror, isn't it, from the kitchen? 509 00:26:37,320 --> 00:26:38,480 Yeah. One-way mirror. 510 00:26:38,480 --> 00:26:43,120 - Yeah. - But actually it shows that you don't always need lots of daylight, 511 00:26:43,120 --> 00:26:47,520 but you need the quality of light, and this has a very, sort of, 512 00:26:47,520 --> 00:26:49,840 serene quality, again. 513 00:26:49,840 --> 00:26:51,040 Into the light. 514 00:26:51,040 --> 00:26:55,520 Yeah, this is the, you could say, architectural bedroom. 515 00:26:58,520 --> 00:27:00,840 Look at that. Oh! That's beautiful, 516 00:27:00,840 --> 00:27:05,640 that's beautiful. That's just Switzerland in a picture frame. 517 00:27:05,640 --> 00:27:10,760 Yeah. Yeah, it's really the mountain we framed here. 518 00:27:12,560 --> 00:27:15,280 I love the, sort of, ad hoc-ness of this. 519 00:27:15,280 --> 00:27:18,560 The funny thing is, if you find a Japanese closet like this, 520 00:27:18,560 --> 00:27:22,480 that fits up to three millimetres to the house you already built... 521 00:27:22,480 --> 00:27:23,680 So it had to be this one. 522 00:27:23,680 --> 00:27:25,720 So had you made any plans for steps? 523 00:27:25,720 --> 00:27:29,840 No, we forgot a lot in this house while designing! 524 00:27:29,840 --> 00:27:32,200 I really like that idea, that, in fact, 525 00:27:32,200 --> 00:27:36,440 creativity sometimes comes out of mistakes, unplanned things. 526 00:27:36,440 --> 00:27:39,360 Some of the best things we didn't design, they just happened. 527 00:27:39,360 --> 00:27:41,760 I love this bedroom, this is so secret-y bedroom. 528 00:27:43,240 --> 00:27:45,800 But, you know, that's why architecture's not so important, 529 00:27:45,800 --> 00:27:47,880 it's the bed linen, at the end of the day! 530 00:27:47,880 --> 00:27:49,560 CAROLINE LAUGHS 531 00:27:57,520 --> 00:27:59,680 Oh, that's good, very good. 532 00:28:00,800 --> 00:28:04,520 How much pleasure do you get from coming here? 533 00:28:04,520 --> 00:28:08,200 Oh, a lot. That's why we come as often as we can. 534 00:28:08,200 --> 00:28:09,640 I think the main thing is 535 00:28:09,640 --> 00:28:12,680 that it's really completely different from being 536 00:28:12,680 --> 00:28:15,520 - in the big city. - When you first walked in today, Piers, 537 00:28:15,520 --> 00:28:17,480 I've never seen you react in quite the same way. 538 00:28:17,480 --> 00:28:20,640 - What was it? - I did, I guess I instinctively responded to 539 00:28:20,640 --> 00:28:23,560 the space, and atmosphere, and drama. 540 00:28:23,560 --> 00:28:25,360 But do you know why? 541 00:28:25,360 --> 00:28:28,920 Because architecture nowadays is too much about what you see, 542 00:28:28,920 --> 00:28:31,960 and the nice thing of an underground house is you can't get an image from 543 00:28:31,960 --> 00:28:35,000 this house, because the only thing you see is this hole. 544 00:28:35,000 --> 00:28:38,840 So, you have to explore it, and to undergo it, 545 00:28:38,840 --> 00:28:41,200 which is different from looking at only. 546 00:28:41,200 --> 00:28:45,120 Whereas this is rare, in that we can never judge it as an object. 547 00:28:45,120 --> 00:28:49,680 The only reason we were able to buy the land was that the old farmer 548 00:28:49,680 --> 00:28:53,000 didn't want to sell... He wanted to sell the land, 549 00:28:53,000 --> 00:28:57,120 but every time there was almost a sale, he backed out, 550 00:28:57,120 --> 00:29:00,360 and we didn't understand why from other people before us. 551 00:29:00,360 --> 00:29:04,000 But then I asked him can we keep the barn? 552 00:29:04,000 --> 00:29:07,920 And then the old man said, "Ah, you want to keep the barn? 553 00:29:07,920 --> 00:29:12,080 "Then I want to sell." So it turned out that he never wanted to sell 554 00:29:12,080 --> 00:29:14,320 because of destructing his old barn. 555 00:29:14,320 --> 00:29:16,080 But that's so moving. 556 00:29:16,080 --> 00:29:18,640 Has that farmer been back to see the house? 557 00:29:18,640 --> 00:29:22,240 Yeah, yeah, he came in, two sticks, 93 years old. 558 00:29:22,240 --> 00:29:27,440 And he was sitting very proudly here at the table while these 350 people 559 00:29:27,440 --> 00:29:29,760 from the village also entered the house. 560 00:29:34,680 --> 00:29:36,200 Yeah, that's too hot for me. 561 00:29:36,200 --> 00:29:38,400 - It's perfect for me. - Yeah, but it's too hot for me! 562 00:29:40,640 --> 00:29:43,120 How about we grab some water? Can we use this? 563 00:29:43,120 --> 00:29:45,760 Yeah, this is a well we struck when we built the house. 564 00:29:45,760 --> 00:29:48,280 And, so, this is just beautiful drinking water? 565 00:29:48,280 --> 00:29:49,680 It's perfect drinking water. 566 00:29:49,680 --> 00:29:50,720 Six litres per minute. 567 00:29:50,720 --> 00:29:53,680 - Really? - Yeah. It's ten degrees, summer and winter. 568 00:29:53,680 --> 00:29:55,600 Oh, God, it's beautiful water. 569 00:29:57,920 --> 00:30:00,240 - Perfect. - And one thing is missing. 570 00:30:00,240 --> 00:30:04,320 Oh! This house has got absolutely everything. 571 00:30:09,160 --> 00:30:11,520 Now I realise I didn't bring my swimmers. 572 00:30:11,520 --> 00:30:13,400 - I'll get in in my undies. - All right. 573 00:30:13,400 --> 00:30:15,520 - It is quite warm, actually. - Come and sit here. 574 00:30:15,520 --> 00:30:18,040 Come and sit this side. That side is very hot, isn't it, Piers? 575 00:30:18,040 --> 00:30:20,880 Too hot for you, Piers?! 576 00:30:20,880 --> 00:30:22,520 - All right?! - It's perfect, actually. 577 00:30:22,520 --> 00:30:25,000 - Do you want a little dribble? - Lovely. Yes, please. 578 00:30:25,000 --> 00:30:26,960 - That'll do you. - A little dribble of pleasure. 579 00:30:26,960 --> 00:30:28,280 - Thank you. - Ooh! 580 00:30:34,480 --> 00:30:36,640 Everything about this house delights me. 581 00:30:37,840 --> 00:30:40,960 The entrance, the coming in, the fact that it's an underground house, 582 00:30:40,960 --> 00:30:42,440 which really surprises me. 583 00:30:42,440 --> 00:30:47,880 Yeah, not many buildings make me lose or forget my professional self 584 00:30:47,880 --> 00:30:53,200 and actually just experience it in all it's sort of dramatic glory. 585 00:30:53,200 --> 00:30:54,520 And this one, I really did. 586 00:30:56,400 --> 00:30:57,480 Cheers. 587 00:31:01,680 --> 00:31:03,480 I'm absolutely poached! 588 00:31:25,880 --> 00:31:28,520 Our next underground house takes us down under 589 00:31:28,520 --> 00:31:30,880 to New Zealand's South Island. 590 00:31:33,360 --> 00:31:37,400 The sunlight on these peaks is really heavenly. 591 00:31:37,400 --> 00:31:41,760 We're heading to a home built on an exposed plot of untamed wilderness. 592 00:31:43,240 --> 00:31:46,520 The owner wanted a peaceful retreat to retire to, 593 00:31:46,520 --> 00:31:49,520 where she could connect with this stunning scenery. 594 00:31:49,520 --> 00:31:51,720 Really, it's sublime, isn't it? 595 00:31:51,720 --> 00:31:53,080 Yeah, it's beautiful. 596 00:31:53,080 --> 00:31:56,120 The challenge for the design director was to create 597 00:31:56,120 --> 00:31:58,840 a relaxing space in this remote environment, 598 00:31:58,840 --> 00:32:02,640 which would enhance the raw landscape, not destroy it. 599 00:32:03,840 --> 00:32:07,680 Critically, this place is so beautiful, it's so fragile, 600 00:32:07,680 --> 00:32:09,480 the natural beauty of this place, 601 00:32:09,480 --> 00:32:12,200 that this house couldn't begin to compete with this scenery. 602 00:32:13,280 --> 00:32:15,880 In this conflict of house versus scenery, 603 00:32:15,880 --> 00:32:18,720 the design director needed to do something different. 604 00:32:20,280 --> 00:32:22,040 As he was building in New Zealand, 605 00:32:22,040 --> 00:32:25,000 a country which embraces architectural innovation, 606 00:32:25,000 --> 00:32:28,640 he decided to design a house underground to soften the impact 607 00:32:28,640 --> 00:32:31,160 a structure would have on this undulating landscape. 608 00:32:32,720 --> 00:32:35,040 It must be rather nice for architects here 609 00:32:35,040 --> 00:32:37,040 not to be hidebound by that massive 610 00:32:37,040 --> 00:32:41,440 weight of history on their shoulders, like Georgian buildings, 611 00:32:41,440 --> 00:32:43,360 - thatched cottages, and all that. - Completely. 612 00:32:43,360 --> 00:32:46,600 They don't have any of that stuff to kind of deal with, do they? 613 00:32:46,600 --> 00:32:48,720 None. I'm throttled by that where I am. 614 00:32:48,720 --> 00:32:51,800 I live near Bath, and everything that you build, 615 00:32:51,800 --> 00:32:53,520 you have to consider in the context 616 00:32:53,520 --> 00:32:55,640 of something that was built 200 years ago. 617 00:32:55,640 --> 00:32:59,840 And it's almost like that period in time has to be frozen in aspic 618 00:32:59,840 --> 00:33:02,200 forever. But they have none of those preconceptions here. 619 00:33:02,200 --> 00:33:03,600 You can build anything. 620 00:33:03,600 --> 00:33:05,120 But the critical thing is, 621 00:33:05,120 --> 00:33:08,160 it's got to belong in terms of how it relates to nature. 622 00:33:09,560 --> 00:33:13,160 Now I can see a little sort of boomerang shape, 623 00:33:13,160 --> 00:33:14,840 a little wing shape, 624 00:33:14,840 --> 00:33:17,600 on the right. I think this might be where we're going, Piers. 625 00:33:17,600 --> 00:33:19,480 Hang on, hang on. Yeah, here, yeah. 626 00:33:19,480 --> 00:33:23,360 - Right. - The glimpse I had, it looks like a little bird has landed. 627 00:33:23,360 --> 00:33:26,600 - There we are. - You can't get more discreet than that, can you? 628 00:33:26,600 --> 00:33:28,720 That's a little hidden house tucked into a hill. 629 00:33:28,720 --> 00:33:30,040 I like that very much. 630 00:33:30,040 --> 00:33:31,280 - Shall we have a look? - Let's. 631 00:33:32,640 --> 00:33:34,240 Wonderful views, aren't they? 632 00:33:34,240 --> 00:33:37,760 It's lovely, isn't it? This is the flight path into Queenstown. 633 00:33:37,760 --> 00:33:39,440 There's a plane coming in, Caroline. 634 00:33:46,840 --> 00:33:49,640 The landscape here has a raw elegance. 635 00:33:49,640 --> 00:33:51,640 But with this natural splendour 636 00:33:51,640 --> 00:33:54,080 comes the threat of natural disaster. 637 00:33:55,680 --> 00:33:57,800 Despite its weightless appearance, 638 00:33:57,800 --> 00:34:01,840 this house has been designed and heavily engineered to withstand 639 00:34:01,840 --> 00:34:03,400 the threat of earthquakes. 640 00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:09,720 I'm really interested in how this big wing of a roof just sits very 641 00:34:09,720 --> 00:34:11,760 delicately, as if it's floating. 642 00:34:11,760 --> 00:34:14,200 It's like a kite. That's what it reminds me of. 643 00:34:14,200 --> 00:34:17,680 A tiny delicate edge that looks fragile, but, actually, remember, 644 00:34:17,680 --> 00:34:20,320 is designed to resist seismic forces. 645 00:34:20,320 --> 00:34:21,640 My father was in the RAF. 646 00:34:21,640 --> 00:34:23,920 And when I was a little girl he used to make me paper planes. 647 00:34:23,920 --> 00:34:26,760 - Did he? - Almost exactly that shape. 648 00:34:28,040 --> 00:34:30,800 As this building is mostly hidden underground, 649 00:34:30,800 --> 00:34:33,760 it allows the landscape to take centre stage. 650 00:34:35,000 --> 00:34:38,240 However, I'm intrigued that this house doesn't give away its 651 00:34:38,240 --> 00:34:41,520 subterranean qualities at first glance. 652 00:34:41,520 --> 00:34:43,960 I'm going to have to go up and have a look and get my bearings, 653 00:34:43,960 --> 00:34:46,600 because I can't quite work out what is where. 654 00:34:46,600 --> 00:34:48,800 - I'll see you in a bit. - OK. 655 00:34:48,800 --> 00:34:51,600 Looking down here, I can already see different levels 656 00:34:51,600 --> 00:34:53,520 that really are underground. 657 00:34:54,840 --> 00:34:58,560 I think this house is all about the landscape and nothing else, 658 00:34:58,560 --> 00:35:00,200 because standing here now, 659 00:35:00,200 --> 00:35:02,640 with the sun rising over the top of that mountain, 660 00:35:02,640 --> 00:35:05,920 it shows that houses aren't about creating an impression. 661 00:35:05,920 --> 00:35:09,880 They're about creating atmosphere and rooting you in a landscape. 662 00:35:11,360 --> 00:35:13,440 To nestle the property within the land, 663 00:35:13,440 --> 00:35:18,400 dynamite was used to excavate 5,000 cubic metres of earth and rock, 664 00:35:18,400 --> 00:35:20,320 to create bunkers in the ground. 665 00:35:22,640 --> 00:35:24,920 The floor plan of this three-bedroom house 666 00:35:24,920 --> 00:35:27,400 is separated into two different structures. 667 00:35:27,400 --> 00:35:30,440 A main house with living areas and bedrooms, 668 00:35:30,440 --> 00:35:32,080 and a separate annexe. 669 00:35:34,240 --> 00:35:37,000 The underground areas are constructed from concrete, 670 00:35:37,000 --> 00:35:40,840 with east-facing glass facades to maximise natural light. 671 00:35:43,040 --> 00:35:47,040 The highly engineered wing-shaped roof is made from timber and heavily 672 00:35:47,040 --> 00:35:51,040 reinforced with steel to safeguard it against seismic activity. 673 00:35:53,240 --> 00:35:56,760 I mean, I know it's ostensibly an underground house, 674 00:35:56,760 --> 00:36:00,000 but I don't feel remotely like I'm under the ground. 675 00:36:00,000 --> 00:36:02,480 I feel like I'm almost in the sky. 676 00:36:02,480 --> 00:36:04,280 Well, you're under a wing, aren't you? 677 00:36:04,280 --> 00:36:06,840 Held up by this huge core. 678 00:36:08,000 --> 00:36:11,600 Chosen for its extreme strength and contemporary appearance, 679 00:36:11,600 --> 00:36:15,400 concrete was the primary material used in constructing this house. 680 00:36:17,040 --> 00:36:20,320 Almost 1,000 cubic metres were poured to create 681 00:36:20,320 --> 00:36:21,920 the rock solid floors, 682 00:36:21,920 --> 00:36:25,560 walls and the central hearth structure. 683 00:36:25,560 --> 00:36:28,800 This is a huge block of concrete right in the middle of the house. 684 00:36:28,800 --> 00:36:33,120 This goes right the way down into the underground bit of the house. 685 00:36:33,120 --> 00:36:35,480 And when all this is moving around in an earthquake, 686 00:36:35,480 --> 00:36:38,000 this is the most important part of the building. 687 00:36:38,000 --> 00:36:42,600 It doesn't feel to me as if it could withstand a slight gust of wind. 688 00:36:42,600 --> 00:36:48,320 It's very odd. It feels paper thin and delicate, 689 00:36:48,320 --> 00:36:50,920 but you think it's a rufty, tufty house, is it? 690 00:36:50,920 --> 00:36:52,640 Totally. This is a piece of ground. 691 00:36:52,640 --> 00:36:55,000 This is a rock. And the whole house is made out of concrete. 692 00:36:55,000 --> 00:36:56,840 And concrete is about the strongest material, 693 00:36:56,840 --> 00:36:59,640 but it's also the most thermally efficient material. 694 00:36:59,640 --> 00:37:03,080 So here we are in the middle of winter, and that sun is coming in, 695 00:37:03,080 --> 00:37:06,840 hitting this concrete early in the morning and heating up the house. 696 00:37:06,840 --> 00:37:10,200 So it's a very clever house in terms of how the light works 697 00:37:10,200 --> 00:37:12,840 and how the mass of the concrete does so much, 698 00:37:12,840 --> 00:37:14,880 other than just be nice to look at. 699 00:37:17,040 --> 00:37:19,520 Downstairs, sunken below ground level, 700 00:37:19,520 --> 00:37:23,480 there are two snug bedrooms wrapped in earth on three sides, 701 00:37:23,480 --> 00:37:25,400 but still flooded with daylight. 702 00:37:26,560 --> 00:37:29,160 We're right in the rock now, aren't we? 703 00:37:29,160 --> 00:37:32,800 - Underground? - Yeah. This is what is great about building in the ground. 704 00:37:32,800 --> 00:37:34,560 All the rooms have direct access 705 00:37:34,560 --> 00:37:36,600 right the way out into the landscape. 706 00:37:36,600 --> 00:37:40,760 But, actually, down here, there is a sense of the house enveloping you, 707 00:37:40,760 --> 00:37:42,600 and really cocooning you. 708 00:37:42,600 --> 00:37:43,920 And this is the bedrock. 709 00:37:43,920 --> 00:37:46,480 This is the ground that they had to hollow out to 710 00:37:46,480 --> 00:37:49,400 make this house. I mean, gosh, that would have taken some doing. 711 00:37:49,400 --> 00:37:51,160 How did they do that, dynamite? 712 00:37:51,160 --> 00:37:53,520 Yeah. Beautiful layered rock strata, isn't it? 713 00:37:53,520 --> 00:37:55,440 What, just blow a massive crater? 714 00:37:55,440 --> 00:37:57,680 Blow a massive hole and fill it full of house. 715 00:37:57,680 --> 00:38:00,880 - Really? - Yeah. But it's interesting, because the house is quite nestled. 716 00:38:00,880 --> 00:38:02,120 And I think unless you did that, 717 00:38:02,120 --> 00:38:04,280 the house would be perched on the top of this hill 718 00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:06,160 at the mercy of the elements. 719 00:38:10,800 --> 00:38:13,920 This house is very complex in many ways. 720 00:38:13,920 --> 00:38:17,240 It takes on enormous themes of landscape 721 00:38:17,240 --> 00:38:20,080 in this big, expansive wilderness. 722 00:38:20,080 --> 00:38:24,720 But, at its heart, it's a very simple exercise in homemaking. 723 00:38:24,720 --> 00:38:29,480 And at the heart of this house is the hearth, the fireplace. 724 00:38:29,480 --> 00:38:34,400 What the hearth also does is root this house right the way down to 725 00:38:34,400 --> 00:38:40,080 the ground. And what happens is the ground is cut around it to make some 726 00:38:40,080 --> 00:38:42,600 bedrooms, a lot of concrete in the ground here. 727 00:38:42,600 --> 00:38:45,600 And then the roof, very thin edges, 728 00:38:45,600 --> 00:38:50,280 kicks up and is anchored right the way to the top of this hearth. 729 00:38:50,280 --> 00:38:56,400 And then there's the bedrooms, and then there's living spaces above. 730 00:38:56,400 --> 00:38:59,680 And what the sun is then allowed to do, 731 00:38:59,680 --> 00:39:03,120 is to enter around here and go around at the end of the day 732 00:39:03,120 --> 00:39:04,760 to there. 733 00:39:04,760 --> 00:39:07,840 So what you get is a fantastic quality of light in the morning. 734 00:39:07,840 --> 00:39:11,320 And then in the evening, underneath, 735 00:39:11,320 --> 00:39:14,240 all of this. And, really, that's it. 736 00:39:14,240 --> 00:39:18,400 This fantastic hearth that really does everything. 737 00:39:18,400 --> 00:39:20,200 And it's really effective. 738 00:39:26,560 --> 00:39:29,800 I'm off to discover owner Louise's favourite room, 739 00:39:29,800 --> 00:39:33,760 an underground chamber, completely separate from the main house. 740 00:39:35,440 --> 00:39:37,880 Louise calls this her inner sanctum. 741 00:39:37,880 --> 00:39:39,840 And I can see exactly what she means, 742 00:39:39,840 --> 00:39:42,240 because if you're going to have a private space, 743 00:39:42,240 --> 00:39:43,680 somewhere to disappear into 744 00:39:43,680 --> 00:39:46,600 when the family are having a thrashing party over the road, 745 00:39:46,600 --> 00:39:50,240 you want some peace and quiet, this is the perfect place to have it. 746 00:39:50,240 --> 00:39:54,360 You've got a beautiful bed with absolutely magnificent views. 747 00:39:54,360 --> 00:39:56,720 A bath that overlooks the mountain. 748 00:39:56,720 --> 00:39:59,760 And even a fireplace. 749 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:04,120 I suppose these are built-in wardrobes. 750 00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:06,480 It must be great to have so much space for all your... 751 00:40:06,480 --> 00:40:08,480 No, it's not a built-in wardrobe! 752 00:40:08,480 --> 00:40:11,400 It's a kitchen! It's a kitchen in the bedroom. 753 00:40:11,400 --> 00:40:13,760 Oh, my Lord! That's marvellous. 754 00:40:13,760 --> 00:40:16,440 What else is here? Sorry. Won't be a second. 755 00:40:16,440 --> 00:40:19,280 It's a fridge! I love that! 756 00:40:22,000 --> 00:40:25,960 Again, there's this fantastic use of concrete here. 757 00:40:25,960 --> 00:40:27,440 Just like in the other house. 758 00:40:27,440 --> 00:40:30,160 These are two separate houses. 759 00:40:30,160 --> 00:40:35,600 And then here it's been cut away, so there's a light that's allowed in. 760 00:40:35,600 --> 00:40:37,920 This skylight is created through the concrete. 761 00:40:37,920 --> 00:40:40,160 But what's really incredible to me 762 00:40:40,160 --> 00:40:43,680 is you are suddenly aware of how thick this roof is. 763 00:40:46,440 --> 00:40:50,120 It took owner Louise several years to find this plot of land, 764 00:40:50,120 --> 00:40:54,160 and I'm keen to hear from her and her builder, Nichol Thomson, 765 00:40:54,160 --> 00:40:56,920 what challenges they faced when constructing this home. 766 00:40:59,000 --> 00:41:01,880 What was it about building a house here for you? 767 00:41:01,880 --> 00:41:05,000 For me, personally, it was about not living in the city. 768 00:41:05,000 --> 00:41:07,120 And I guess slow down in some ways. 769 00:41:07,120 --> 00:41:11,720 At what point was the decision made to make this an underground house? 770 00:41:11,720 --> 00:41:14,960 The landscape was the most important part. 771 00:41:14,960 --> 00:41:20,320 And the brief had a sentence in it which was, "Let the land speak." 772 00:41:20,320 --> 00:41:23,560 The interesting thing is when you go through a process like this, 773 00:41:23,560 --> 00:41:27,240 there are so many different kinds of design that you like. 774 00:41:27,240 --> 00:41:32,520 - Yeah. - So, because the landform here is full of hills, 775 00:41:32,520 --> 00:41:37,040 I really wanted the buildings to sit within the land. 776 00:41:37,040 --> 00:41:41,360 We wanted the buildings to feel as though they had just been planted 777 00:41:41,360 --> 00:41:42,760 into the ground. 778 00:41:42,760 --> 00:41:45,560 So there was an incredible amount of effort that went into 779 00:41:45,560 --> 00:41:48,360 thinking through how that would work. 780 00:41:48,360 --> 00:41:51,520 We are building here in a remote part of New Zealand. 781 00:41:51,520 --> 00:41:54,320 Everything has to be brought in by truck, 782 00:41:54,320 --> 00:41:58,000 often off-loaded two or three times before it arrives here. 783 00:41:58,000 --> 00:42:00,360 Things get broken, things get lost. 784 00:42:00,360 --> 00:42:03,640 The first thing was obviously trying to even work out the volume of earth 785 00:42:03,640 --> 00:42:05,880 that had to be removed to build it into the landscape. 786 00:42:05,880 --> 00:42:08,880 And then we had to use explosives to blow it all out. 787 00:42:08,880 --> 00:42:12,560 So a lot of the rock that came out, you'll see in parts, 788 00:42:12,560 --> 00:42:15,000 retaining walls and things all around the property, 789 00:42:15,000 --> 00:42:16,520 it's all been reused. 790 00:42:16,520 --> 00:42:20,640 Constructing this unconventional house took a team of local craftsmen 791 00:42:20,640 --> 00:42:23,200 three years to complete. 792 00:42:23,200 --> 00:42:27,640 The experimental architecture meant a lot of problem-solving for Nichol. 793 00:42:27,640 --> 00:42:31,440 Were there any points when you thought, "This is a tricky build." 794 00:42:33,000 --> 00:42:35,800 Funnily enough, right at the start when we were troubleshooting... 795 00:42:36,920 --> 00:42:38,920 The concrete's a special sort of a mix. 796 00:42:38,920 --> 00:42:41,440 Concrete is a little bit like a cake, 797 00:42:41,440 --> 00:42:43,840 for want of a better description, 798 00:42:43,840 --> 00:42:46,440 so, essentially, the recipe had to be tried out 799 00:42:46,440 --> 00:42:48,120 over and over and over again. 800 00:42:48,120 --> 00:42:52,960 The aggregates, the stones, the cement percentages, the sand, 801 00:42:52,960 --> 00:42:54,880 everything's quite different here. 802 00:42:54,880 --> 00:42:57,680 We ended up, we had sort of a little sort of concrete graveyard 803 00:42:57,680 --> 00:42:59,520 for a while, with about ten or 12 little... 804 00:42:59,520 --> 00:43:01,320 - Tombstones. - ..tombstones. 805 00:43:01,320 --> 00:43:02,520 It took ten or 12 tries? 806 00:43:02,520 --> 00:43:04,040 Yeah, it took us about six weeks. 807 00:43:04,040 --> 00:43:08,600 And at any point did you think, "Oh, I wish I hadn't start this?" 808 00:43:08,600 --> 00:43:10,200 I think everyone does. 809 00:43:10,200 --> 00:43:14,920 I think construction is stressful, it's tiring. 810 00:43:14,920 --> 00:43:19,360 And the whole time you are looking at the spaces that you've studied 811 00:43:19,360 --> 00:43:21,840 and planned intensely over, going, 812 00:43:21,840 --> 00:43:24,320 "Is it big enough, is it small enough, 813 00:43:24,320 --> 00:43:26,360 "does it feel right?" 814 00:43:26,360 --> 00:43:30,040 And so you run this roller-coaster of emotion through the whole 815 00:43:30,040 --> 00:43:31,200 construction period. 816 00:43:31,200 --> 00:43:33,240 And now it's actually finally built... 817 00:43:33,240 --> 00:43:35,960 - Yes? - ..is there anything you'd change about it? 818 00:43:35,960 --> 00:43:37,880 I'd probably put a few more power points in! 819 00:43:47,480 --> 00:43:50,040 One of the things that fascinates me about this house 820 00:43:50,040 --> 00:43:53,280 is that it takes you underground and cossets you 821 00:43:53,280 --> 00:43:55,280 with this fantastic hearth, 822 00:43:55,280 --> 00:43:58,600 and then it pushes you out into the wilderness. 823 00:43:58,600 --> 00:44:02,520 One minute you feel very, very safe, under the ground, 824 00:44:02,520 --> 00:44:05,440 and the next minute you feel like you're a bird, 825 00:44:05,440 --> 00:44:09,240 soaring above the white peaks of the mountains. 826 00:44:10,640 --> 00:44:11,760 Very clever. 827 00:44:30,520 --> 00:44:34,640 'The last stop on our journey to unearth underground homes takes us 828 00:44:34,640 --> 00:44:39,000 'to the Netherlands, and Piers has insisted we adopt the local method 829 00:44:39,000 --> 00:44:40,240 'of transport.' 830 00:44:40,240 --> 00:44:42,920 Piers, you go ahead because I'm really wobbly! 831 00:44:43,960 --> 00:44:46,320 'We're heading to a Dutch nature reserve, 832 00:44:46,320 --> 00:44:49,200 'just 20 miles out of the city centre. 833 00:44:49,200 --> 00:44:52,360 'This protected woodland is considered a local beauty spot, 834 00:44:52,360 --> 00:44:55,120 'and the perfect escape from the bustle of city life.' 835 00:44:56,560 --> 00:44:59,960 I love that, that you can live in a piece of wilderness but it's only 836 00:44:59,960 --> 00:45:03,800 half an hour from a fantastic cosmopolitan city - Amsterdam. 837 00:45:03,800 --> 00:45:04,960 This is my idea of heaven. 838 00:45:08,640 --> 00:45:10,320 The four bedroom family home 839 00:45:10,320 --> 00:45:13,320 we're visiting is owned by architect Sanne Oomen. 840 00:45:13,320 --> 00:45:16,520 where she lives with her husband, Lucas, and their two children. 841 00:45:19,320 --> 00:45:22,960 This family are passionate about living in a sustainable way. 842 00:45:22,960 --> 00:45:25,160 They undertook the challenge of building a large, 843 00:45:25,160 --> 00:45:27,960 contemporary home embedded in the landscape, 844 00:45:27,960 --> 00:45:30,600 so that it integrates with the local nature reserve. 845 00:45:32,760 --> 00:45:36,800 And, Piers, this is a proper eco-build? 846 00:45:36,800 --> 00:45:37,960 It is, it absolutely is. 847 00:45:37,960 --> 00:45:41,800 It's carbon neutral and is super insulated, 848 00:45:41,800 --> 00:45:43,520 and that's why it's underground, 849 00:45:43,520 --> 00:45:47,760 because they use all the earth to heat it and cool it. 850 00:45:47,760 --> 00:45:51,520 And to build a house that's not visible, of course, 851 00:45:51,520 --> 00:45:54,800 is important when you're dealing with a protected forest, 852 00:45:54,800 --> 00:45:56,360 which this is. 853 00:45:56,360 --> 00:45:58,480 Landscape is everything, I think, for this house. 854 00:45:58,480 --> 00:46:01,320 So it's going to be really interesting to see how it fits in. 855 00:46:02,880 --> 00:46:04,400 Here we are. This is gorgeous. 856 00:46:04,400 --> 00:46:05,440 CAROLINE LAUGHS 857 00:46:07,840 --> 00:46:09,280 I love it already! 858 00:46:09,280 --> 00:46:11,720 Talk about green roof, that's the most bushy, green roof 859 00:46:11,720 --> 00:46:13,000 I've ever seen. 860 00:46:13,000 --> 00:46:14,240 It's a hobbit house! 861 00:46:24,720 --> 00:46:28,040 So many eco-houses are so dry, this is so quirky already. 862 00:46:28,040 --> 00:46:30,920 That's very interesting, because when you think of an eco-house you 863 00:46:30,920 --> 00:46:32,000 suddenly become serious. 864 00:46:32,000 --> 00:46:34,040 - Yeah. - So, "Oh, no, we're protecting the Earth, 865 00:46:34,040 --> 00:46:35,320 "it's got to be very serious." 866 00:46:35,320 --> 00:46:38,360 - Dry muesli. - Dry muesli and dripping rainwater. 867 00:46:38,360 --> 00:46:40,440 And, actually, this is just hilarious. 868 00:46:40,440 --> 00:46:45,040 But so much of this is banished from contemporary architecture - 869 00:46:45,040 --> 00:46:49,440 humour, wit, life, and this is so verdant and bushy. 870 00:46:49,440 --> 00:46:51,880 It's wonderful, look at it! 871 00:46:53,040 --> 00:46:54,080 "Welcome... 872 00:46:54,080 --> 00:46:56,120 "Mel..Melle, Mats..." 873 00:46:56,120 --> 00:46:58,600 Oh, this is the children... "Melle, Mats, 874 00:46:58,600 --> 00:47:00,680 "Sonne and Lucas. 875 00:47:00,680 --> 00:47:03,480 "All living here." 876 00:47:03,480 --> 00:47:04,800 It's very stylish, isn't it? 877 00:47:04,800 --> 00:47:07,120 Very stylish, the arrow is very stylish. 878 00:47:07,120 --> 00:47:08,880 I wonder what's behind here. 879 00:47:08,880 --> 00:47:11,920 - We can find out because I've got the key to the door. - The buzzer. 880 00:47:11,920 --> 00:47:13,080 There we are. 881 00:47:15,600 --> 00:47:18,720 - This is great. - Oh, look! 882 00:47:18,720 --> 00:47:21,160 Now, listen, I'm thrilled to see this. 883 00:47:21,160 --> 00:47:25,280 I think it's so lovely to see people using things in a new and kind of 884 00:47:25,280 --> 00:47:29,960 - fun way. - Yes. This is stuffed full of things, this house, isn't it? 885 00:47:29,960 --> 00:47:31,160 Look, that's beautiful. 886 00:47:31,160 --> 00:47:32,920 I can hear you. 887 00:47:32,920 --> 00:47:36,480 Do you know, that reminds me, that reminds me of an old friend... 888 00:47:36,480 --> 00:47:38,000 There's so much to look at. 889 00:47:38,000 --> 00:47:39,560 I already want to know what that is. 890 00:47:39,560 --> 00:47:40,960 That's a light into the basement, 891 00:47:40,960 --> 00:47:42,760 I know that without even going down there. 892 00:47:42,760 --> 00:47:45,760 So that light is coming straight downstairs into the basement? 893 00:47:45,760 --> 00:47:48,720 - Straight downstairs. - Because, oh, God, we're underground, that's why, 894 00:47:48,720 --> 00:47:52,160 - I've just realised. - Yes. - So that is in the surface of the garden 895 00:47:52,160 --> 00:47:54,000 that we've just walked through. 896 00:47:54,000 --> 00:47:58,320 - Yeah. - And suddenly, opening up, and, look, we're outside again. 897 00:48:01,320 --> 00:48:03,040 Piers, this is so exciting. 898 00:48:03,040 --> 00:48:04,360 I love it, I love it. 899 00:48:04,360 --> 00:48:06,000 I love the way they live in it. 900 00:48:06,000 --> 00:48:07,880 Yes, we're underground, 901 00:48:07,880 --> 00:48:11,320 we're underneath that roof at the moment but I don't feel it at all, 902 00:48:11,320 --> 00:48:14,120 because we're connected both by those skylights there 903 00:48:14,120 --> 00:48:16,120 and then straight out the front there. 904 00:48:16,120 --> 00:48:19,800 And what a brilliant panorama of this incredible woodland. 905 00:48:19,800 --> 00:48:20,880 I'm very excited. 906 00:48:20,880 --> 00:48:22,160 Me too, I don't know where to go. 907 00:48:22,160 --> 00:48:23,800 Let's go down there! 908 00:48:25,440 --> 00:48:29,320 This eco-home was designed to be part of the natural environment 909 00:48:29,320 --> 00:48:31,480 and to champion sustainable principles. 910 00:48:32,920 --> 00:48:36,280 After deep excavation and the laying of concrete foundations, 911 00:48:36,280 --> 00:48:40,080 the bedrooms and bathrooms were stacked across three floors 912 00:48:40,080 --> 00:48:41,720 on the north side of the building. 913 00:48:41,720 --> 00:48:44,840 A large, open-plan living space inhabits the south. 914 00:48:46,840 --> 00:48:49,440 From the north side, the entire building is embedded 915 00:48:49,440 --> 00:48:50,640 in earth and greenery, 916 00:48:50,640 --> 00:48:53,120 for natural insulation and camouflage. 917 00:48:54,680 --> 00:48:58,440 The south facing glass facade and a series of skylights bring natural 918 00:48:58,440 --> 00:49:01,160 light into even the deepest parts of the house. 919 00:49:04,960 --> 00:49:08,520 The interior of this home is crammed full of the art the couple have 920 00:49:08,520 --> 00:49:12,720 collected and sits alongside bespoke, handcrafted furniture, 921 00:49:12,720 --> 00:49:16,960 made from reclaimed and up-cycled objects and materials. 922 00:49:16,960 --> 00:49:18,560 And, look, your taxi's here! 923 00:49:19,920 --> 00:49:22,200 That's comedy, isn't it? 924 00:49:22,200 --> 00:49:23,720 - That's a Daimler. - It is. 925 00:49:25,160 --> 00:49:28,640 What's brilliant, this furniture is actually upside down 926 00:49:28,640 --> 00:49:31,080 and on its side, and it's about, I think, 927 00:49:31,080 --> 00:49:34,280 saying take a look at things from a different perspective. 928 00:49:34,280 --> 00:49:36,160 Let's turn this on its head. 929 00:49:36,160 --> 00:49:38,080 A lot of architects did this in the '70s. 930 00:49:38,080 --> 00:49:41,440 They put radiators on the ceiling and at strange angles and things. 931 00:49:41,440 --> 00:49:42,920 They've got it right here. 932 00:49:42,920 --> 00:49:45,320 They know how to do what's practical, 933 00:49:45,320 --> 00:49:48,320 but to make it beautiful, and funny, and clever, 934 00:49:48,320 --> 00:49:51,720 and interesting, and great to use. 935 00:49:51,720 --> 00:49:54,520 This eclectic mix of up-cycled furnishings 936 00:49:54,520 --> 00:49:57,160 are a stunning example of great design, 937 00:49:57,160 --> 00:49:59,800 fused with zero waste eco-principles. 938 00:50:01,240 --> 00:50:06,680 The centrepiece of the whole house is this big Finnish...? Finn oven? 939 00:50:06,680 --> 00:50:08,720 Finn - F-I-N-N, as in Finnish, 940 00:50:08,720 --> 00:50:11,720 and the principle is that the flue snakes around 941 00:50:11,720 --> 00:50:16,200 to make sure that all of the heat, 90% of it, stays in here. 942 00:50:16,200 --> 00:50:18,320 So, they're not just pipes that go up, 943 00:50:18,320 --> 00:50:20,240 and therefore you lose all the heat out the top? 944 00:50:20,240 --> 00:50:22,280 This actually stays in the body of the oven? 945 00:50:22,280 --> 00:50:24,040 And because it's made out of concrete, 946 00:50:24,040 --> 00:50:26,960 this will stay warm probably for 12 hours after the fire goes out. 947 00:50:26,960 --> 00:50:28,240 Is this ancient or modern? 948 00:50:28,240 --> 00:50:31,560 It's an ancient principle, but used in a 21st-century house. 949 00:50:33,160 --> 00:50:34,680 Alongside the Finn oven, 950 00:50:34,680 --> 00:50:37,800 the house is heated by a wood pellet boiler system 951 00:50:37,800 --> 00:50:42,760 and solar panels placed due south, to maximise the sun's rays. 952 00:50:42,760 --> 00:50:45,680 This provides enough renewable electricity 953 00:50:45,680 --> 00:50:48,640 to power the entire house and the family's electric car 954 00:50:48,640 --> 00:50:50,200 all year round. 955 00:50:52,160 --> 00:50:54,880 Even the orientation of the house is positioned 956 00:50:54,880 --> 00:50:57,520 with environmental sensitivity. 957 00:50:57,520 --> 00:50:59,760 There's clearly a hierarchy of the spaces, 958 00:50:59,760 --> 00:51:03,680 so clearly the main spaces that get the light and height face south, 959 00:51:03,680 --> 00:51:05,800 face the view, and that's where you live. 960 00:51:05,800 --> 00:51:08,520 Then the less important spaces buried at the back, 961 00:51:08,520 --> 00:51:10,400 because they don't need the light. 962 00:51:10,400 --> 00:51:13,440 But here, also, these roof lights let in tonnes of light. 963 00:51:13,440 --> 00:51:17,920 A roof light lets in between three and six times as much light 964 00:51:17,920 --> 00:51:21,960 - as a window. - Really? - Seriously, because you get the sky coming in. 965 00:51:21,960 --> 00:51:24,400 - I never knew that! - And it's flooded with light up there, 966 00:51:24,400 --> 00:51:27,000 just from a couple of roof lights. 967 00:51:27,000 --> 00:51:29,480 But it's chock full of surprises, isn't it? 968 00:51:29,480 --> 00:51:30,520 Oh! 969 00:51:32,960 --> 00:51:34,400 You knew that was going to happen! 970 00:51:34,400 --> 00:51:35,760 SHE GASPS 971 00:51:37,600 --> 00:51:38,840 Oh... 972 00:51:43,640 --> 00:51:45,320 This is another world in here. 973 00:51:47,040 --> 00:51:51,040 And look how thick that bit of ground is up to the sky. 974 00:51:52,640 --> 00:51:54,400 That's how far we are underground. 975 00:51:54,400 --> 00:51:56,000 PATTERING 976 00:51:56,000 --> 00:51:57,240 I can hear the rain. 977 00:51:59,920 --> 00:52:02,760 And even with the rain, you can feel the silence. 978 00:52:07,080 --> 00:52:08,520 It's the perfect bedroom. 979 00:52:10,040 --> 00:52:11,440 WHIRRING 980 00:52:22,560 --> 00:52:26,480 This house is rich with layers of ideas and complexity, 981 00:52:26,480 --> 00:52:28,840 but, at its heart, it's a very simple building. 982 00:52:28,840 --> 00:52:33,080 You have some little spaces stacked on top of one another, 983 00:52:33,080 --> 00:52:36,400 that then protect one big space, 984 00:52:36,400 --> 00:52:39,080 which is where most of the living happens, 985 00:52:39,080 --> 00:52:45,080 and you then take the eaves to make sure that summer sun, which is hot, 986 00:52:45,080 --> 00:52:46,680 can't enter the building, 987 00:52:46,680 --> 00:52:50,760 but winter sun can enter right into the back of the building. 988 00:52:50,760 --> 00:52:51,960 And what you do then 989 00:52:51,960 --> 00:52:57,480 is to take all of the earth and mound it up around the house, 990 00:52:57,480 --> 00:53:02,520 as thick as possible, to make it protected from all the cold, 991 00:53:02,520 --> 00:53:04,560 and earth is actually a very good insulator 992 00:53:04,560 --> 00:53:06,880 when you mound it up really thick. 993 00:53:06,880 --> 00:53:09,080 Earth, when you get down to a certain thickness, 994 00:53:09,080 --> 00:53:10,680 is a stable temperature. 995 00:53:10,680 --> 00:53:13,040 Then, of course, the winter sun 996 00:53:13,040 --> 00:53:16,040 floods in and the summer sun is kept out. 997 00:53:16,040 --> 00:53:19,080 The back of the house then has these little rooms, 998 00:53:19,080 --> 00:53:22,280 these little cellular spaces - utilities, bathrooms - 999 00:53:22,280 --> 00:53:24,360 that are buried in the back of the house, 1000 00:53:24,360 --> 00:53:26,160 where you don't need the light. 1001 00:53:32,080 --> 00:53:35,280 I love these old doors, set into these modern walls. 1002 00:53:39,640 --> 00:53:41,880 This is adorable, this room, it's adorable. 1003 00:53:41,880 --> 00:53:43,600 It's obviously a child's bedroom. 1004 00:53:44,840 --> 00:53:46,040 It's so lovely. 1005 00:53:46,040 --> 00:53:50,280 With a little place for some little tacker to sit in this 1006 00:53:50,280 --> 00:53:55,240 beautiful, fascinating, bulbous little window on the world. 1007 00:53:58,360 --> 00:54:00,280 Sonne and Lucas spent four years 1008 00:54:00,280 --> 00:54:02,880 designing and building their underground home, 1009 00:54:02,880 --> 00:54:06,520 with friends and architects Oscar Vos and Thomas Dieben. 1010 00:54:08,520 --> 00:54:11,920 The choice to build a house underground, 1011 00:54:11,920 --> 00:54:14,360 where did that come from? 1012 00:54:14,360 --> 00:54:17,080 My family name is Mole, 1013 00:54:17,080 --> 00:54:18,680 all the family living... 1014 00:54:20,040 --> 00:54:24,440 No. We just wanted to build a sustainable home. 1015 00:54:24,440 --> 00:54:27,120 From the start, we had this sketch of a house, 1016 00:54:27,120 --> 00:54:29,400 with a big space like a hole, 1017 00:54:29,400 --> 00:54:33,120 and it was my first build and I didn't want to do it alone, 1018 00:54:33,120 --> 00:54:37,640 so I decided to ask friends from Delft, from university, 1019 00:54:37,640 --> 00:54:38,960 to do it with me. 1020 00:54:38,960 --> 00:54:42,840 I was actually quite nervous also about how it would be, 1021 00:54:42,840 --> 00:54:44,400 and also about the technical parts. 1022 00:54:44,400 --> 00:54:47,520 We were building it during the financial crisis, 1023 00:54:47,520 --> 00:54:50,560 so a lot of contractors fell down. 1024 00:54:50,560 --> 00:54:55,760 It was hard labour, and a lot of blood, sweat and tears. 1025 00:54:55,760 --> 00:54:57,760 The basement was sort of extra, 1026 00:54:57,760 --> 00:55:01,080 because at first we couldn't dig in the ground. 1027 00:55:01,080 --> 00:55:02,520 Why? 1028 00:55:02,520 --> 00:55:06,480 We weren't allowed because it's a winning area, it was not allowed. 1029 00:55:06,480 --> 00:55:08,000 How did you get round that? 1030 00:55:08,000 --> 00:55:11,520 We told them it's really silly, 1031 00:55:11,520 --> 00:55:19,120 you are yourself digging holes to search for the water, 40 metres... 1032 00:55:19,120 --> 00:55:21,320 And a big swimming pool, a public swimming pool here. 1033 00:55:21,320 --> 00:55:23,760 - And they're telling us we're not allowed. - Yeah. 1034 00:55:23,760 --> 00:55:27,600 And then they changed their own regulations and we were allowed to. 1035 00:55:27,600 --> 00:55:30,840 So then we could dig, and then we said we want a basement, 1036 00:55:30,840 --> 00:55:32,840 and a very big basement. 1037 00:55:32,840 --> 00:55:35,840 Did your client interfere with your work quite a lot? 1038 00:55:35,840 --> 00:55:37,760 All the time! 1039 00:55:37,760 --> 00:55:40,960 - All the time, yeah. - But never fights. 1040 00:55:40,960 --> 00:55:44,240 All the time bigger and more special. 1041 00:55:44,240 --> 00:55:45,720 We had to make it possible. 1042 00:55:47,840 --> 00:55:49,320 Like starting architects, 1043 00:55:49,320 --> 00:55:53,440 they want to make a clean building with empty and... 1044 00:55:53,440 --> 00:55:55,600 - No, that's not true. - ..and white walls. 1045 00:55:55,600 --> 00:55:58,040 - No, no, no, no, no. - Most architects do! 1046 00:55:58,040 --> 00:56:01,320 So it will fit in all the architecture magazines. 1047 00:56:01,320 --> 00:56:03,880 - Absolutely. - And I wanted crazy stuff. 1048 00:56:03,880 --> 00:56:06,640 Most architects are quite nervous 1049 00:56:06,640 --> 00:56:09,720 about that kind of bricolage of ideas. 1050 00:56:09,720 --> 00:56:11,840 - But I love it. - Me too. 1051 00:56:11,840 --> 00:56:15,280 Who did you go to about the budget, who did you talk to? 1052 00:56:15,280 --> 00:56:18,400 Because client-architect budget discussions are always difficult, 1053 00:56:18,400 --> 00:56:20,840 but when you're the client and the architect, 1054 00:56:20,840 --> 00:56:22,960 how did you have the budget discussions? 1055 00:56:22,960 --> 00:56:25,880 Yeah, how did we do that? 1056 00:56:25,880 --> 00:56:29,400 We never talked about the budget. 1057 00:56:29,400 --> 00:56:30,640 We just wanted to do it. 1058 00:56:30,640 --> 00:56:32,760 Maybe you need to talk about it now! 1059 00:56:34,040 --> 00:56:37,160 But what's really interesting is you have a super sustainable house that 1060 00:56:37,160 --> 00:56:40,240 uses very little energy, but you still have a Daimler. 1061 00:56:40,240 --> 00:56:44,440 Yeah, in Amsterdam you can do anything on your bike, 1062 00:56:44,440 --> 00:56:48,000 or with a tram, and we said to each other, 1063 00:56:48,000 --> 00:56:51,560 yeah, but we're going to build a sustainable house 1064 00:56:51,560 --> 00:56:53,120 and now we're going to 1065 00:56:53,120 --> 00:57:00,160 drive each day with a 25-year-old car, five-and-a-half litre engine. 1066 00:57:00,160 --> 00:57:03,320 I don't think Mother Earth will like it. 1067 00:57:03,320 --> 00:57:08,760 So we gave her a new life, as a cupboard in the kitchen. 1068 00:57:08,760 --> 00:57:12,320 And there was this big crane to put it in. 1069 00:57:12,320 --> 00:57:14,320 It was snowing in the winter... 1070 00:57:14,320 --> 00:57:17,520 She went in through the roof, through the last hole in the roof. 1071 00:57:17,520 --> 00:57:19,800 So she can never go out. 1072 00:57:19,800 --> 00:57:22,560 She had to die for this green dream. 1073 00:57:34,480 --> 00:57:38,520 What's extraordinary is that when we arrived here, 1074 00:57:38,520 --> 00:57:42,800 we looked up at that door and we had no idea 1075 00:57:42,800 --> 00:57:44,160 what lay behind it. 1076 00:57:44,160 --> 00:57:47,600 It's a world of make-believe, but it's real. 1077 00:57:47,600 --> 00:57:51,280 It's real, and, also, I get a very real sense that it's actually 1078 00:57:51,280 --> 00:57:54,120 sort of the future of the way we're going to live. 1079 00:57:54,120 --> 00:57:57,240 Because it reclaims what it is to live sustainably. 1080 00:57:57,240 --> 00:58:00,400 But it's also...it's retained its sense of humour, 1081 00:58:00,400 --> 00:58:01,800 and its joie de vivre, 1082 00:58:01,800 --> 00:58:03,280 its joy in family life.